2017 Cabernet Sauvignon Nº 3, Vineyard 1, Ashes & Diamonds, Napa
100% Cabernet Sauvignon from Rutherford, crafted by Steve Matthiasson. This cuvée from Ashes and Diamonds is a tribute to what they consider to be the 'golden era' of the 1960s and 1970s in Napa: great wines made by farming in a traditional way, picking at lower sugar levels for lower final alcohol, and using gentler extraction. It's from the famous George III vineyard in Rutherford. A portion of it was planted in 1896 by Mrs Thomas Rutherford herself, and later used by André Tchelistcheff to make wine for legendary Beaulieu Vineyards. The wine has that classic 'Rutherford dust' in its texture, with elegant, gourmand, savoury notes. There's pretty red fruit with red currant and red plum, as well as some darker bramble alongside layers of tobacco, dried rose petals and exotic spice.